Two wood workpieces are sometimes fastened together by means of a pocket joint. A pocket joint is a pocket-hole in the first piece, with a screw in the pocket-hole extending into the second workpiece. A pocket-hole is one that is made at an angle in the first piece of wood, entering from one surface and exiting out of the edge-wall. Usually the pocket is sufficiently large to fully contain the head of the screw so that when the screw is recessed in the hole, it is not exposed.
Generally, pocket-holes have been generated by pocket-hole jigs with a portable drill motor or by pocket-hole drilling machines that take advantage of speed and easy setup. The commercially available pocket-hole drilling machines require a foot switch to start a cycle. Furthermore, these drilling machines do not allow a user to adjust the vertical location or depth of a pocket-hole on a workpiece according to its thickness.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a machine with flexibility to drill pocket-holes in a speedy and efficient manner with one or more of the following features: 1) the ability to start and finish a cycle without a foot or hand operated switch; 2) an adjustable fence; 3) improved clamping; 4) the ability to remove wood chips; 5) the ability to adjust the spacing between two pocket-holes; 6) the ability to drill plural pocket-holes simultaneously in a wider workpiece; 7) the ability to drill plural pocket-holes and dowel-holes simultaneously in a wide board that is to be joined to a side panel; 8) a radial clearance in the drill guide to extend the life of a step-drill, and 9) use of a lever or a secondary electric motor to eliminate use of compressed air.